West Ham v Crystal Palace | Pre-match Pundit Predictions for the Hammers against Roy Hodgson’s men

West Ham take on Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace this weekend as they attempt to make it three consecutive league wins following victories away at Newcastle and at home against Cardiff. The fixture is a battle between two of the most well travelled gaffers in the Premier League, with Manuel Pellegrini and Hodgson having managed in fourteen different countries between them.

The referee for this game is Anthony Taylor- Palace are winless in their last seven games under him. He’s already refereed two of their games this season- the 2-1 loss away at Watford in GW3 and the 2-0 loss at Goodison Park to Everton in GW9.

Palace were very poor against ten man Brighton in midweek, and key players like Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur were scathing in their criticism of the performance, with the former calling it “nowhere near good enough” and the latter describing it as “unacceptable”. The Eagles will be looking to prove a point, but given their dreadful away record, not many fans will be optimistic of their chances at the London Stadium.

West Ham of course will be without Marko Arnautovic, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Cresswell. Fabian Balbuena is however expected to return in the heart of defence to take his place alongside Issa Diop.

How do the pundits reckon West Ham will fare against Crystal Palace? Let’s take a look

Mark Lawrenson: Lawro says West Ham are “beginning to look more like a team” and has gone for a 2-0 win to the home side.

His celeb opponent this weekend, boxer Josh Warrington, says the Hammers are a “bit unpredictable” but expects them to get “a positive result”. Has gone for a 1-0 West Ham win.

Paul Merson: Merson says Crystal Palace “just don’t score enough goals” for him, and has gone for a 2-0 win to the Hammers.

Michael Owen: Owen’s noted that the team scoring first in this clash doesn’t lose, and reckons the Hammers will score first and take home all three ponts.

Robbie Savage: Former Welsh midfielder Savage has echoed Lawro and Merson’s thoughts, and has predicted a 2-0 win for West Ham.

Alejandro Moreno and Alexis Nunes: Moreno surprisingly has gone for a Palace win, while Nunes, like the others, has tipped West Ham to edge this.

Summary of predictions:

Lawro: West Ham 2-0 PalaceCO: West Ham 1-0 PalaceMerson: West Ham 2-0 PalaceSavage: West Ham 2-0 PalaceOwen: West Ham to score first and winAlejandro Moreno: Palace to winAlexis Nunes: West Ham to win